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1/72 B-52D with Big Belly Mod, Operation Arc Light

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  • Member since
    April 2012
  • From: USA
1/72 B-52D with Big Belly Mod, Operation Arc Light
Posted by Striker8241 on Friday, August 31, 2012 2:55 PM

Hello, All,

This project is a 1/72 scale diorama of a B52D bomber being armed and readied for an Arc Light mission over Vietnam. The model I'm building is Monogram's 1/72 B-52D, kit #5709.

I included a full revetment, ground service equipment, three scratch-built "Big Belly" bomb clips loaded with 500 lb bombs, a scratch built bomb lift trailer and a scratch built flat-bed semitrailer (bomb truck) with 750 lb bombs for the pylons. In addition to the bomb loading activity, I also added maintenance scenes for the nav antenna, left outboard engine, ECM chaff loading and tail gun turret maintenance.

Below is the setup I wanted to capture:

 

And below is the finished diorama, along with some pictures of the build:

 

 

 

 

Note: This project actually came together because of three other FSM builds:

Andy (Mr. Magoo) Mitich's  1/72 B-52D "Big Belly" Racks - http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/2/t/57110.aspx  Thanks, Andy!  

My Superdetailing the 1/71 B-52D Cockpit - http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/2/t/147660.aspx    This was my first solo build here.

Ken (Son of Medicine Man) First Annual Berny Memorial Group Build - http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/29/t/145416.aspx?page=31       Thanks Ken and all the other guys in the build!

 

If you would like to visit these builds, just highlight the entire link starting with http://.... copy it and paste it into the address window above, then hit Enter.

Cheers, and thanks for looking!

Russ

 

 

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
Posted by Bish on Friday, August 31, 2012 3:36 PM

Great work so far Russ. The first photo is exactly the image i have had in my head for years of how i wanted my B-52 dio. The flatbed and the revetment are two things i wasn't sure how i would reproduce. I may have to steel a few more of your ideas from this.

I am a Norfolk man and i glory in being so

 

On the bench: Airfix 1/72nd Harrier GR.3/Fujimi 1/72nd Ju 87D-3

  • Member since
    April 2012
  • From: USA
Posted by Striker8241 on Friday, August 31, 2012 3:42 PM

Bish

Great work so far Russ. The first photo is exactly the image i have had in my head for years of how i wanted my B-52 dio. The flatbed and the revetment are two things i wasn't sure how i would reproduce. I may have to steel a few more of your ideas from this.

No problem, Bish. You're welcome to anything you can use Smile

Russ

 

  • Member since
    April 2012
  • From: USA
Posted by Striker8241 on Friday, August 31, 2012 3:46 PM

I've been reviewing my pictures of bomb loading and I've decided my diorama isn't going to look complete without a bomb lift trailer, so I'm taking a stab at building one. Below is what the bomb lift trailer looked like and my version of the control end. I figured I'd tackle the easy part first. The wheels are from that HO scale semitrailer that I used for the bomb truck. They're a bit too large but they're the only ones I could find in this format that are close to actual size.

Russ

 

 

 

  • Member since
    February 2010
  • From: Ontario, Canada
Posted by Bockscar on Friday, August 31, 2012 6:37 PM

Russ:

VERY COOL!!!

Dom

  • Member since
    April 2012
  • From: USA
Posted by Striker8241 on Friday, August 31, 2012 7:09 PM

Thanks, Dom  Smile

 

Inserted 6/29/19 from First Annual Berny Memorial Group Build, page 35:

The right side ram air intake was missing on my model so I added it. The ram air intakes are located forward of the front main landing gear on both sides of the fuselage. Here's how to do it:

1.) Take a piece of paper and press it against the two inlets on the left side fuselage half. Rub them with your finger to make impressions of both inlets.

2.) Cut out the impression of the lower inlet.

3.) Flip the paper over and line up the top impression with the right side top inlet. Then use the cut out of the lower inlet to draw an outline on the fuselage.

4.) Use a sharp #11 Xacto blade to carve out the inlet. Go slowly to avoid cutting too deep.

The added right inlet is shown below.

  

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    September 2009
  • From: Guam
Posted by sub revolution on Friday, August 31, 2012 7:26 PM

Awesome project! Here on Guam at the AFB there is a B-52 on display as an Arc Light memorial. Can't wait to see yours finished!

NEW SIG

  • Member since
    April 2012
  • From: USA
Posted by Striker8241 on Friday, August 31, 2012 7:54 PM

Hello, Sub, and thanks!  You in the military there? I was TDY on Okinawa but flew in and out of Guam several times. I've seen pictures of the memorial there.

Thanks for stopping by!

Russ

 

  • Member since
    September 2009
  • From: Guam
Posted by sub revolution on Friday, August 31, 2012 8:08 PM

Yup. I'm navy, on the submarine tender out here.

NEW SIG

  • Member since
    April 2012
  • From: USA
Posted by Striker8241 on Friday, August 31, 2012 8:44 PM

Cool! Big Smile. I was Air Force, 20 years. What's life like on a sub tender? Do you stay out for long periods?

 

  • Member since
    September 2009
  • From: Guam
Posted by sub revolution on Saturday, September 1, 2012 4:22 AM

Normally no, but we were just stateside for several months in the shipyard. What did you do?

NEW SIG

  • Member since
    April 2012
  • From: USA
Posted by Striker8241 on Saturday, September 1, 2012 8:57 AM

I was an Electronic Countermeasures (ECM) technician.

 

 

  • Member since
    September 2009
  • From: Guam
Posted by sub revolution on Monday, September 3, 2012 5:51 AM

Not to steal your thread, but today we were up near the AFB so I stopped in to grab some photos for you.

DSC01871

DSC01875

DSC01876

DSC01877

DSC01881

DSC01883

DSC01889

NEW SIG

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
Posted by Bish on Monday, September 3, 2012 5:58 AM

Now thats a memorial.

I am a Norfolk man and i glory in being so

 

On the bench: Airfix 1/72nd Harrier GR.3/Fujimi 1/72nd Ju 87D-3

  • Member since
    April 2012
  • From: USA
Posted by Striker8241 on Monday, September 3, 2012 9:21 AM

sub revolution

Not to steal your thread, but today we were up near the AFB so I stopped in to grab some photos for you.

No problem, Sub. Great pictures! Thanks!

Russ

 

  • Member since
    April 2012
  • From: USA
Posted by Striker8241 on Thursday, September 6, 2012 4:24 PM

Here's my finished bomb truck loaded with 750lb bombs - I plan to do the weathering later. The bomb on the end will be shown about to be lifted by a jammer. The "Explosives A" sign is held on with a single strand of my lovely wife's hair Big Smile.

 

Inserted 6/30/19 from my notes.

The following shows basically how I built the bomb truck tractor (the trailer was the best I could come up with at the time, but was far too short and the wrong type flatbed. Long after I finished the diorama, I built a proper long-bed trailer which is shown on or about Page 35 of this thread).

Since there were no 1/72 civilian tractors available, I decided to model an Army tractor which was also used by the Air Force. I bought the Academy M35 2.5 ton cargo truck kit and modified it. I shortened the chassis and made my own fifth wheel.

 

Make the following modification:

1.) Cut off the back 8mm of the chassis frame (B24) just at the angle braces, as shown in the Academy assembly instructions below.

2.) Cut off the upper support plates from the side frames (B1, B2) as shown.

4.) Glue the side frames (B1, B2) to the chassis frame (B24) as shown in the instructions.

5.) Fabricate a rear plate 4mm x 14mm plate from 0.5mm styrene and glue it across the cut between the side frames (B1, B2). Ensure the top of the plate is level with the top of the side frames as shown in the second photo below. I didn't add any details to this plate like tail lights or license plate but you can do that if you want.

5.) Proceed with the Academy assembly instructions to finish the truck.

NOTE: You can add the front winch per the instructions or leave it off and mount the front bumper directly to the chassis (as I did later on). Both configurations appear to have been used by the Air Force.

 

Below is a diagram of the fifth wheel I made, with my dimensions.

 

 

The photo below shows the finished tractor before weathering. The mud guards are from the Academy kit and are attached with strips of styrene.

 

Cheers and thanks for looking!

 

 

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
Posted by Bish on Friday, September 7, 2012 1:01 PM

This build just gets better. Sweet.

I am a Norfolk man and i glory in being so

 

On the bench: Airfix 1/72nd Harrier GR.3/Fujimi 1/72nd Ju 87D-3

  • Member since
    April 2012
  • From: USA
Posted by Striker8241 on Friday, September 7, 2012 2:52 PM

Bish

This build just gets better. Sweet.

Thanks, Bish Big Smile

 

  • Member since
    February 2010
  • From: Ontario, Canada
Posted by Bockscar on Friday, September 7, 2012 3:19 PM

I agree with Bish. Sweet.

'Never seen so many crater-eggs on the back of a flat bed like that!Yes

Man, I can hear 'em hatching now!

  • Member since
    April 2012
  • From: USA
Posted by Striker8241 on Friday, September 7, 2012 4:07 PM

Lol, thanks Dom Big Smile

 

  • Member since
    April 2012
  • From: USA
Posted by Striker8241 on Saturday, September 8, 2012 2:37 PM

The previous wheel sets for the bomb lift trailer were just too big, even though they looked better.  I replaced them with wheels from a Hasegawa US Aircraft Weapon Loading set. The scale is closer now to the actual unit.

Tags: B-52D , bomb , lift , trailer

 

  • Member since
    November 2010
  • From: Lafayette, Indiana
Posted by Son Of Medicine Man on Saturday, September 8, 2012 8:33 PM

Hi Russ,

Great job on your build!

Ken

  • Member since
    April 2012
  • From: USA
Posted by Striker8241 on Saturday, September 8, 2012 8:44 PM

Hi, Ken.  Thanks! Smile

 

Inserted 6/4/19 from First Annual Berny Memorial Group Build, page 44.

The following is from some of my posts in Ken's First Berny Memorial build, plus some supplemental information about building the bomb bay and cutting out the upper bomb bay doors.

I built my bomb bay out of 1mm sheet plastic to fit into the right fuselage half, as shown below.

The dimensions for the internal structure are given in the diagram below. These dimensions are approximate and may need to be adjusted slightly for your installation. Test fit all parts before gluing the structure together. NOTE: You may have to trim some internal fuselage mounting points to fit the bulkheads.

The kit comes with the lower curved part of the front bulkhead molded into the fuselage halves so you only need to add a top piece (Front Bulkhead in the image above) to complete the front bulkhead. Also, use this bottom bulkhead to shape the bottom of the Rear Bulkhead.

 

If you want to show the bomb bay doors opened to the load position, you will need to cut out the upper bomb bay doors. These are clearly outlined on the fuselage, as shown below. Use a sharp Xacto knife blade and cut carefully and repeatedly until the doors are separated.

 

Updated 8/4/19

 

Adding the Catwalks

There were walkways (catwalks) on either side just above the lip of the bomb bay. These were part of a pathway that allowed you to crawl/crouch/stagger all the way from the cockpit to the tail gunner's compartment.

They definitely add interest to the model, so if you would like to add these, follow the procedure below.

1.) Using 0.5 mm Styrene stock or equivalent, cut out four strips 120mm long by 5 mm wide, and two strips 120 mm long by 4 mm wide.

2.) Select two of the 120 x 5 mm strips and mark a line down the center of each.

3.) Starting from either end, mark off 39 points 3 mm apart along the center line.

4.) Using a 1-1.25 mm drill bit, drill 39 holes centered on the marked center line points.

5.) Glue one 5 mm wide strip with holes and one 5 mm wide strip without holes to form a "V", as shown in the diagram below.

6.) Glue a 4 mm wide strip along the open top of the "V". This forms the catwalk "deck."

7.) Assemble the second catwalk per the above steps.

8.) Glue the catwalks to the inside lip of the bomb bay, as shown in the pictures below. NOTE: Be sure the sides with the holes faces inward.

 

Detailing and Attaching the Bomb Bay Doors

I added some card stock and styrene strip detail to the doors, as shown below. Note that this only "suggests" the actual detail; it's not accurate.

 

Mounting the Doors

At this point, you're faced with two choices for mounting the doors to the fuselage:

A) Glue the top edges of the upper doors directly to the fuselage, which is a messy way to do it and there's no guarantee the doors will stay in place, or

B) provide some kind of attaching system that also supports the doors. The method I used is described below.

You will need some ordinary office staples for this task. Refer to the diagram below (NOTE: The photo shows my doors already assembled at this point, but mounting the upper doors to the fuselage first before attaching the lower doors will save you a lot of grief.)

1)      There are 8 hinge points on the bottom edge of the upper door where the lower door hinges to it. Use these as a reference and with a razor saw, make shallow cuts about 1 mm deep across the top edge of each upper door, corresponding to the hinge points, as shown below.

2)      Temporarily position each upper door in place and mark 8 points on the edge of the bomb bay corresponding to the saw cuts in the doors.

3)      Make shallow saw cuts in the edges of the bomb bay at each mark.

4)      Straighten and cut off lengths of staples to bridge across the slots in the bomb bay sides and the upper doors.

5)      Position the first upper door so the top edge is even with the edge of the bomb bay and the slots line up.

6)      Glue a piece of staple into each slot.

7)      Attach the other upper door assembly in the same manner.

Once the upper doors are attached to the fuselage, attach each lower door to the upper door so that they are at a 90 degree angle to the upper door, as shown below. NOTE: I suggest you use rubber or tacky glue first to get the doors at the right angle before gluing them permanently.

 

  • Member since
    April 2012
  • From: USA
Posted by Striker8241 on Monday, September 10, 2012 6:29 PM

Here is the first set of bomb bay door safety locking assemblies. They're a little bright in color right now but I'll weather them when I do the fuselage.

  

 

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    June 2003
  • From: Rowland Heights, California
Posted by Duke Maddog on Thursday, September 13, 2012 7:46 AM

Man this rocks! I'll be watching this with great interest since I always wanted to do something similar but haven't got the space!

  • Member since
    April 2012
  • From: USA
Posted by Striker8241 on Thursday, September 13, 2012 8:03 AM

Thanks, Duke, and welcome! Frankly, I don't have the room either Big Smile

Russ

 

  • Member since
    April 2012
  • From: USA
Posted by Striker8241 on Sunday, September 16, 2012 3:15 PM

The scribing is coming along (I spend more time repairing mistakes than scribing...). Below is a shot of the nose area. There is supposed to be a small antenna cover for the APX-26 IFF transponder just forward of the main hatch but the kit only represents this with a small blister of plastic. I ground it out and added a piece of shaped sprue. The area around the cover appears to be depressed slightly so that's the way I modelled it.

Also on top, the escape hatch for the EWO was outlined by two panel lines that looked more like the lines provided to indicate the walkway areas. I removed the inner line since the outer line is about the same size as the other hatches.

Also, the outline of the Doppler hight-finder radar antenna cover was left off. It should be between the bomb bay and the forward wheel wells, as shown below. NOTE: The fuselage halves are just taped together at this point.

 

Inserted 7/4/19 from First Annual Berny Memorial Group Build.

Here are the tools I use for scribing: a panel scriber and a dental pick (I filed the tips flat on this one to produce a sharp triangular shape). Both are available from Micro-Mark.

I used the panel scriber right over the top of the raised panel lines, then I used the dental pick to widen the lines and remove the debris created by the panel scriber.

 

Cheers,

Russ

 

  • Member since
    April 2012
  • From: USA
Posted by Striker8241 on Tuesday, September 18, 2012 12:01 PM

Since I posted the above picture, I found two images (shown below) that indicate the "antenna" is actually the lens for the optical bombing sight with an offset cover housing. The first image shows the cover closed and the second shows it open. Further, there is no recessed area around the base as it appeared to be in the first photo.

I plan to correct the model to show the offset cover housing but with the lens cover closed, as it would be with the aircraft on the ground.

Cheers,

Russ

 

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
Posted by Bish on Wednesday, September 19, 2012 3:18 PM

Re scribeing an entire B-52. Now thats dedication. Great work Russ.

I am a Norfolk man and i glory in being so

 

On the bench: Airfix 1/72nd Harrier GR.3/Fujimi 1/72nd Ju 87D-3

  • Member since
    April 2012
  • From: USA
Posted by Striker8241 on Wednesday, September 19, 2012 4:21 PM

Thanks, Bish Smile  It's a real challenge but I'm almost finished with the fuselage. The area aft of the rear main gear wells to the turret has been the hardest to resolve.

Russ

 

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